Crude oil prices rocketed to a new 10-year high of $36 a barrel in late trade in New York on Friday as tensions flared between Iraq and Kuwait, and a storm headed for the oil-producing Gulf of Mexico, reported the BBC.online.
At the close of trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures had dipped slightly to $35.92 a barrel but remained $1.85, or 5.4%, up on the day - and at their highest levels since 18 October 1990, said the BBC.
Brent crude futures in London had earlier closed $1.61 higher at $33.90, just off the decade-long high reached last week.
"No one is going to want to be short ahead of a hurricane," one London trader said, as a tropical depression moved threateningly towards the oil-producing Gulf of Mexico.
Oil companies working in the area said they were monitoring the weather and on Friday began evacuating offshore workers from the region which accounts for 20% of the US' domestic oil production and 25% of its natural gas output, the BBC added.
According to the BBC, the weather warnings coincided with the outbreak of a fresh war of words between Middle East oil producers, Iraq and Kuwait.
On Thursday, Iraq had claimed Kuwait was stealing oil from its southern fields -an accusation which Iraq also made just before invading its neighbor in 1990.
Kuwait denied the charge on Friday while the United States weighed in with a warning to Iraq that it would face renewed military attacks if it threatened its neighbor, said the BBC - Albawaba.com
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
